Desert Moon, Bandit Wind
by Luna Tiger
Summary: A pointless blurb centered around Yamucha in an AU future after DBZ. Yaoi, lycanthropy. Like I said, it's a blurb and you may not understand it. Mainly written for the emotion.


  
  
No one belongs to me, except Deijani, Sirri, and Dom. This contains shounen-ai, which translate in english to boy love, which translates in flamerese to Burn-in-hell material. I would appreciate an open mind from the viewers of this, because it's been proven if you don't, the best review I'll get is "Sikko!"... which isn't even a review. 

This happens sometime during my GT-overtake called DBRM, but the only trace you'll find of it is the story Searching For You- A Sixth Super Saiyajin. ^^; So, I'm doing this part in advanced, because it'll take me forever to get to the actual story. 

* * *

Desert Moon, Bandit Wind 

The sand shifted between my toes; I could feel it as I galloped across my home land, the world of my tribe... /My/ world now. An endless spread of drylands. It had been years since I last set foot on the death-kissed land. 

Oh, it was so good to be home again. 

And now, I could live in peace, away from those who protected Chikyuu. I had proven myself worthy to be by their side once again...... but it was too late now. Much too late. What was done was done and there was no going back. 

I felt the powerlevel of him flying close behind me, just high enough to avoid being choked to death by the upkick in sand. Humans.. so instinctive like that. Not as intouch as the Saiyajin, but every species has automatic common sense. I should know; I had a pair of battling wits. One of the human I was and one of the ookami I am. 

The wind brushed through my fur, combing through it with a kind master's touch. Much like my mate's touch... Him. 

He was understanding, considerate, and always there for the other. He knew what it was like to feel useless against superpowers like Buu and Cell and Deijani... He also knew that to be great, you had to make sacrifices. And a great sacrifice had been made. One's humanity. 

I slowed down my speed, reluctantly bringing myself to a noiseless walk. I wasn't tired, but going over a cliff wasn't my idea of a fun time. He landed beside me with the normal plop against the night white sea. 

Up in the sky was the reason the resident aliens remained indoors. The regenerated full moon. Ah, but it fueled my transformation just as it caused theirs. Except no beast emerged from the man. Quite the opposite... but I don't know how... and neither did he. 

A warm hand stroked the full white coat on my head. "It'll be alright, koi. I promise." 

_Oh, Tien,_ I thought, sadly. _How can you still call me that.. How can you when I'm more monster than man now? How?_ I lifted my muzzle and licked at the hand; it was the only communication I wanted at the moment, to tell the tri-clops I cared too. I cared very much... Very much.. and /they/ finally realized that when I shed my humanity to save their lives. 

Three weeks ago, a metal creature, almost ship-like, attacked the planet, bent on conquering it for pleasure. He had no idea what kind of beings lived there and apparently, he didn't have to. He wiped the floor with the Saiyajin, even Gohan and the fused twins couldn't dent the mineral he was made of: nsatkium, he had said. Goten had done the most damage, but only after his rage consumed him on the downfall of Trunks and Sirri. He went down too. 

They all did. Even Tien had tried, but to no avail. Only I was left, scared of death and frightened out of me mind. And all the cruel words I've heard over the years came back to me. 

_"You're worthless, boy! Why did we even adopt you?! We should've put you back in your basket and set you down the river to be eaten by the giant seazors." _

_"You're weak! What kind of warrior back down from a fight?! Even if you know you'll lose, for your pride, throw yourself into the heat of battle!" _

_"You're a coward!" _

_"You won't fight back, will you? Why not? Afraid I'll kill you if you resist? Don't be.. yet." _

_"How stupid are you??" _

_"You were never worthy of her time, human. She was much too good for you...."_

And I made my life turn upside down. I wouldn't disgrace them by running... or let down Gokou. 

I was the ookami, the wolf. Trapped in the body of my ancestors, the last of my kind. 

And Tenshinhan respected me. For everything, he had said once. And he loves me. As a friend, a battle companion, and the other half of his soul. That hurt to think about; before it was a dull ache of yearning and it took strength not to cling to his scar-covered body and break down everything I've never told him. Now, it's pure amazement. How can you love a wild beast so equally? 

I twitched, shaking the sand out of my fur. Gods, I loved him. Like I did Bulma, so many years ago. But that candle flickered out as those years went by. Yet, we still tried to make it work, going on dates here and there... but I knew it'd never happen, not when that arrogant prince filled her dreams while he was away in space. But gods, I can't see how they work! There's no connection at all, just two similar poles that repel. 

Maybe she just needed someone who could bring up a decent argument; she could never get one out of me. I may have gotten over my fear of women, but their accusations are another thing completely. 

Tien sat down on a moderate size rock, watching me as I watched the moon. She called to me, like She calls the water of the oceans and manipulates them into waves and tides. Like She called to the Saiyajin and manipulated them into destruction. What would the moon say to me? Would She even speak? 

**Faith, garuru. Faith.**

She spoke and I gave Her my answer. I let out a cry, the lone howl of a wolf who is master. I was the master. I was power. I was one of a kind. 

The wolf will someday see the sunrise of ten generations past. I will be gone then and all that will remain is the great white lupine of the desert. Yamucha- me- will die when my time comes, when old age takes the humanity away from this body. Because I love this world and I have done what I can for it. 

I am weak, but I have heart. Blood and emotions make it beat and that's what compels me to never quit. I can't quit... 

I feel Diana's pull, the goddess shedding the skin of one of her children. The transformation wasn't painful, only discomforting. The dull feel of bones rearranging... I couldn't imagine how much it would hurt if I could feel it. 

I reared up onto my back legs, limbs thickening, fur disappearing, tail shrinking. ...I was human again in less than two minutes and the first thing I did was hug my arms and shiver. Bare skin and no ounce of clothing in the cold, desert night could do that to you, but then Tien was behind me, draping my blue terry cloth robe over my shoulders. My thanks? 

I cried. 

Tears of shame, hurt, happiness.. You name it, they represented it. And all he did was turn me around and wrap his arms around me, letting me cry on his shoulder as he rubbed my back, his cheek against my temple. I couldn't ask for anything better. 

And I clung to him. He was strong, someone I could lean on and one day bare my secrets to him. 

"I'm sorry." 

"No, don't be." 

I raised my head quickly. He told me later he saw something more beautiful than a siren's song: a warrior who shed diamond tears, not an emotionless killer. At the moment, I felt like a mess. "But--" 

A protest silenced by a simple gesture, a finger to the lips. And he smiled. Not just with his lips, but with his two main eyes as well. They sparkled so nicely.. 

"Don't, Yamucha. Never be sorry for something you couldn't control. Because of you, we're alive. All of us. The twins were in healing pits for a few days and that was the only casualty. Lord knows that the Briefs' got the quiet time they deserved and the twins paid for their cocky actions. No one hates you. And.... I want you to cry. As much as you like; I'll never think less of you." 

Of course, that made me cry even harder. He doesn't know how much he means to me. Everything and more. Oh.. gods. It hurt again, but this time, the damn broke and I sobbed. 

Papa always told me boys shouldn't cry. But boys are only human, as are men. Men should be able to cry.. because we can. 

We crossed the sand back to the rock and I'm pulled into his lap, curled up and tucked against him. He's warm like this. I closed my eyes, enjoying the heat and the closeness. 

"You're ears are cute, too." 

Yeah.. cute ears... So very warm.. Wait, cute ears? I reached up, tentatively creeping my fingers up the side of my face until it brushed up against hair too soft and too short. I was getting a bad feeling and it only got worse as my fingers kept going upwards. 

I had the wolf's ears. 

I screamed, startled, and pushed myself away from Tien, falling to the desert floor and scampering my body away, panicking something fierce. When I looked back at the tri-clops, he was just grinning, amused, with his head resting on his hand and his arm propped up by his knee. Okay, I could understand him being entertained over this, but.. he had a little possessive hint in his quirked up lips. Why would he-- 

The wind picked up and a felt a draft where I /shouldn't/ be feeling one. I glanced down at myself and shrieked a little, grabbing the length of the robe and tossing it back over my waist. 

Tien laughed. "It's not like I haven't seen it before, koibito." 

The blush on my face grew 10 fold as I stuttered like a fool. First dogs ears and then flashing my mate. Smooth, real smooth. 

He motioned me back and, after straightening the robe, I did return to his lap. He kissed my forehead and I smiled reflexively. Little reminders just.. made me smile. 

"Can we stay like this for a bit?" 

"Of course. And then we'll give Bulma a house call, scare the crud out of everyone, and then break out the kleenexes." 

I chuckled. "That sounds good.." 

~*~ 

Bra yawned, rubbing her eyes as she strolled into the kitchen, her white slippers muffling the padded sound of walking over the blue-and-white linoleum. She opened the refridgerator and pulled out the pitcher of tea. A glass in hand and she poured herself a drink. She was about to go back upstairs with it when the doorbell rang. 

_The drones'll get it._

Sure enough, one of the maintenance robots whizzed past her in the hallway, heading straight for the front door, _mumbling_, "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." 

Bra blinked. _Boxer's reprogrammed one. Uh oh..._ The half saiyan decided to follow the drone... just to make sure there was no trouble. Besides, who stops by... umm.. really late at night? 

At the door, the small drone hit the button and said, "If you're selling anything, we don't want it!" 

Bra gave a little giggle. 

"Um, no, we're not selling anything," came the answer over the comm. "It's me, Tenshinhan. Can you let us in?" 

_Us? Yamucha?_

It opened the door, and sure enough, Tien was standing there in the doorway. The light bluenette beamed and bounded down the rest of the corridor. "Tien-san!" 

The tri-clops started for a second, but relaxed by the time she was directly infront of him. "Tien-san, what're you doing here?" 

"Umm.. Could we come inside first?" 

"We? You have Ojisan-Yamucha with you??" _That would be so great,_ she thought. _I haven't seen him since Deijani._ "Where is he?" 

Tien stepped aside; Bra was expecting the white coat of the wolf to appear, but instead got the last thing she'd thought she'd see again and the image she wanted most of all. There, standing beside one of the pupils of Tsurusennin, was Yamucha, dressed in simple black slacks and tanktop. Bra's mouth dropped. "Y.. you.. you...." 

He smiled that same shy smile and rubbed the back of his head. "For the most part, yeah." 

Bra clasped her hands together, pressing them to her lips in attempt to stop them from trembling. Blue eyes glassed over... 

"MINNA-SAN!!" 

And she was running back inside, so intent on waking the residents of the building... Yamucha winced and Tien merely blinked, but followed at a slower pace. They'd reach the central room just about the same time the young Brief girl woke the majority up. 

~*~ 

***Bang bang!***

"Kaasan! Papa! Get up!" 

Vegeta's eye twitched open. _What does she want..._

***Bang bang bang!***

"It's important! Please wake up!" 

_What's so important that can't wait til morning.._

"Yamucha's back!" 

_He was never gone--... Eh?_ He sighed, irritated, and shook Bulma's shoulder lightly. "Onna, wake up. If you start picking up Raddittsu's sleeping habits, I will kill both of you." 

"Nnn?" Sleepy eyes blinked. "Nani desu ka?" 

"Your daughter is rapping on our chamber door. She shouts of Yamucha and nothing more.(1)" 

She sat up, fast. "Yamucha?!" 

~*~ 

"Oniisan! Oneesan! Dom-kun!" The twins were up imediately. Sitting up, albeit hunched over, the two rubbed their eyes and Trunks slid out of bed, wandering towards the door and opening it. "S'up, Bra?" 

"Yamucha and Tien are here!" And with that, she was skipping down the hall, an extra spring added in the bounce. Trunks just looked at her strangely before closing the door. _What's going on?_

"My thoughts exactly," Sirri yawned, rubbing her face with the hand that wasn't craddling her son beside her. "What's up?" 

"They're here, supposedly." 

With a mental image of the tri-clops and the white wolf crossing between them, Sirri blinked and made a face. "But, why?" 

"Your guess is as good as mine," said the lavender-haired man, but with a smirk, he added, "considering our guess would be the same." 

"Heh." Gathering up the rousing Dominic, Sirri stumbled out of bed. "Let's go find out then." 

~*~ 

After making sure her youngest sibling was up, Bra looked over the railing that lead to the story below, which was the central common room, normally used for multi-person interviews and tea parties, etc. 

She could see Bulma hurrying out of her room for the stairs on the other side of the floor Bra was on. From her left, the twins and Dom made their way out of their own room, much more slower than Bulma was.. but then again, they could leap over the railing and float down to the common room. Simple as that. 

Bra smiled and prepared to jump down there too, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. A pale blue one. "Oh, Zarbon, you scared me." 

"I would imagine so, Bra, but then again, you scared me, with all that yelling you did." 

Her smile turned sheepish. "M'sorry, but I.. kinda got a little excited." 

Zarbon cocked his head. "I could tell, _shar_. Now, shall we meet our guests before you end up accomplishing what others couldn't?(2-3)" 

~*~ 

Bulma flew down the stairs, ignoring the slight indecency of her robe not being tied closed. Some things were more important than her nightslip showing. 

Once at the bottom of the stairs, all things that weren't ignored were just plain forgotten. It was broken voice, concerned and relieved, fearful and overjoyed, that spoke. "Y-Yamucha..?" 

And all the ex-bandit could do was smile softly. "Cinderella has come back from poverty." 

And she clung to the man she once loved, murmuring her fears, cursing at him, and just glad he could still be human... Even if it was only for one night of the month. 

Owari, 

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(1): My Vegeta isn't all about 'kill Kakarrot' and 'must get stronger'. See, he's intelligent, more than what most give him credit for. In my universe, Bra once dragged him to the library for a school report. I don't think Vegeta would spend an hour just standing there, watching Bra or glaring at random people. :B So, guess what? He wandered and picked out a book randomly. Edgar Allan Poe's stuff. He liked the morbidness. 'Nough said. ^^;; 

(2-3): Yes, Zabby's alive. :B And he's mated to Radditz, ^_^ who is also alive. Radditz's also utterly deaf when asleep and even a banchee at close range could never wake him. On the other hand, light in the eyes works miracles. 

As for how the story finishes is not for this short to tell. :B Just know this. Yamucha and Bulma still have a strong platonic love for each other, because I don't see Bulma as the use-and-toss type and Yamucha definitely had her to thank for the cure to his woman-phobia. Yam-chan will never be the cheating jerk everyone makes him out to be and Bulma (despite how she annoys me) will be brash, but compassionate. If you don't like it, that's your problem. 


End file.
